Pledge

I made this video way back when.

I made this before I ever heard of the debate about the ‘proper’ lyrics for the Pledge of Allegiance . As you may know, the current United States Pledge of Allegiance contains the phrase “Under God”, but the original did not (the change was made in 1954). In this recording I quote the original Pledge of Allegiance, Francis Bellamy, 1892, which does not have the term “under God” in it. I chose that for two reasons 1) because it is more mellifluous (it seemed to fit better with the tune) and 2) the Pledge of Allegiance has changed four times since it’s composition, but the original will never change. The following verse leads off with “I pledge allegiance to God”, and so it was not meant as an activist statement. If I was to remake it today, I would include “under God” simply because that is our country’s pledge, some people care strongly about it, and I do not care to contribute to the debate.

Also, when I sing the song now, I always conclude the song with, “And me!”